Have you been to West End recently? I mean what is going on? The place is going nuts!

It used to be quite sleepy and alternative but it’s now full boho chic. The old West End we knew and loved is still there though thank goodness. It’s where people still walk around in bare feet, espouse anarchy and thumb their noses at polite society.

It’s on the wrong side of the river admittedly but if I had my way, we would annex West End to make it officially the northside.

Every few weekends or so we make the ultimate sacrifice though and we cross the river for our dose of West End … a browse at Bent Books and Avid Reader, a coffee at Vulture Street Espresso or the Swiss Gourmet Deli where they have the best Portuguese tarts and vanilla cakes in Brisbane.

And we always pop into Kazuyo’s Collection, that gorgeous little Japanese shop selling handcrafted wares. And I go to The Happy Herb Shop (which sounds like the sort of establishment Bob Marley might have frequented) to buy my incense.

We love West End. I mean where else can you run into someone walking a pet pig?

It’s getting busy over there though and it’s increasingly popular with youngsters. My son has been visiting from Sydney and hanging out there with friends.

It’s the in place apparently and it just got hipper with the advent of The West End Electric, the cool new venue from Scott Maidment and the folks at Strut & Fret. They’re launching their circus cabaret venue during Brisbane Festival with Limbo – The Return and packing them in.

Scott was telling me that one person who walked in to check out the place couldn’t believe he was still in Brisbane. It’s more like Paris or Berlin.

But guess what? Brisbane is cool and West End is extra cool. I went over for the media launch of The West End Electric last week and parked across the road from West Village. I had a coffee at Picnic Café and it was packed. The whole precinct was buzzing with people everywhere.

I hadn’t been to this part of West End for a while and I can now report that it is going off. But maybe you knew that already?

Never mind, I’m catching up.

There’s a certain amount of gentrification going on but I don’t want it to get too gentrified. I hope West End keeps its alternative underbelly because I love that about the joint.

And I love the Greek and Vietnamese influences and the restaurants and cafes. Avid Reader is the literary heart of Brisbane and now it has been emblazoned with an amazing mural adorning its upper exterior.

It’s by Vernon Ah Kee, is entitled Say Their Name and it features the names of local writers writ large. Check it out next time you’re over West End way and let me know if you see that guy walking his pig.